Meta

How the Internet Works

This video was passed onto me by my darling wife, who is a whiz at picking out videos and articles that I would find interesting! Entitled “There and Back Again: A Packet’s Tale, this educational video clip was produced by the World Science Festival – a New York City-based non-profit organization committed to scientific education and public awareness. And in it, they explain how this complex organism known as the internet actually works.

Using a single search item as an example, the clip lets the viewer see how a packet of data – one of trillions of internet interactions – goes from one side of the planet to the other and then back again, all in the space of a second. In addition to explaining how such volumes of data are handled, they also draw attention to the fact that the internet depends upon real physical connections.

This second aspect of the video is very important, in that it reminds us that despite what could computing and wireless teach us – that data is free-floating mass moving through the air – that the world-wide web is still grounded in solid objects, such as copper and optic cables, before it gets to your wireless router. And even though it is only three and a half minutes in length, the clip is quite informative. Enjoy!